Author: Isabel Wilkerson

“In our era, it is not enough to be tolerant. You tolerate mosquitoes in the summer, a rattle in an engine, the gray slush that collects at the crosswalk in winter. You tolerate what you would rather not have to deal with and wish would go away. It is no honor to be tolerated. Every spiritual tradition says love your neighbor as yourself, not tolerate them.”
– Isabel Wilkerson, Caste: The Origings of Our Discontent

Origins of our discontents is such an important part of this title. Ava DuVernay made a movie about the making of this book called Origin. This subject matter can be heavy, and Origin is a great way to dip your toe into the subject of the Caste system. 

Americans have an obsession with the Natzi Germany era, for deep-rooted reasons. While Isabel Wilkerson is making a case for why the caste system and not racism is “the origin of our discontent,” she uncovers proof that the leaders of the Natzi regime studied and borrowed tactics from the Jim Crow era. Throughout the whole book, there are undeniable documented correlations between the Natzi era and the United States.

Caste in America is a social hierarchy that determines social status based on how you look. Isabel Wilkerson is making the case that the caste system is the origin of our discontent as a divided nation, rather than racism, mostly because of how we use racism in society. Racism is personal and accusatory, “that’s racist,” whereas caste is a system embedded into society as a way to keep people in their place based on how we look, the most defining factor being the color of our skin. 

She points out that in the US, all white people are white and all black people are black. Lumping everyone into a caste system. The lighter the skin, the quicker to succeed. Whereas an educated Nigerian man who comes to the US with a trust fund will no doubt be profiled by the cops and face more hurdles than an immigrant from a European country with light skin, no matter the class. 

In Isabel Wilkerson’s research, she finds that India is the closest caste system to the US, I’m sure you’ve heard the term “untouchable” this stems from the caste system in India and was introduced into American culture by Dr. Martin Luther King when he visited India. In India they are born into a cast rank and the lowest cast, also known as “untouchables” because they are thought to be untouchable by the higher caste. Untouchables identify with the struggles of Black people in the United States. 

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents